Orchestration Home
ORCHESTRATION LINKS
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http://www.pas.org/Resources/rudiments.cfm |
Notation Percussion |
| http://www.harpspectrum.org/harpworks/composing_for_harp/composing_for_harp.shtml Includes several pictures and examples of harp notations. Also provides a discussion of the various parts of the harp and the different kinds of harps that are widely used. |
Instrumentation Harp |
| http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/ Searchable database of user-submitted samples of all kinds. Features ability to preview samples online. |
Samples |
| http://eidola.org/notation/gallery/notations/music.shtml Excellent discussion about the nature of music notation and how our brains process visual information. |
Notation |
| http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/details.phtml?sku=EW-160 EWQL Symphony Orchestra Gold Edition information page. Click on the MP3 DEMO files to hear the library's potential. Scroll down to see a list of available samples. |
Virtual Orchestration |
| http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~netinfo/backupcs1604/sound.html |
Digital Audio |
| http://library.pittstate.edu/sekso/resources/instruments.html This site contains a comprehensive listing of other sites about orchestras and the instruments of the orchestra. Particularly interesting are the lists that include professional societies associated with individual instruments. |
Links |
| http://members.aol.com/robfrank/Biblio.htm A selective, annotated bibliography of books on notation, orchestration/instrumentation in general, and individual instruments in particular. Library of Congress call numbers are included. |
Bibliography |
| http://music.lib.byu.edu/RefGuide/bibliographies/theory.html An annotated bibliography of publications on various topics. |
Bibliography |
| http://www.classical.net/music/books/orchestration.html A bibliography about orchestration books. Unfortunately, not all of them have an annotation. |
Bibliography |
| http://www.classicalarchives.com/ Contains a very large collection of public domain classical music in MIDI file format. Five free downloads are allowed per day. The files can be useful as a point of departure for study and making arrangements. |
MIDI Files |
| http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Dept/MU/Musicpress/NotationTables.html A set of links to pages ranging from score page layout to beaming. |
Manuscript Preparation |
| http://www.danieldorff.com/images/haddonfield-tipsheet.pdf A one page document that gives some suggestions for preparing orchestral scores and parts. |
Manuscript Preparation |
| http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory29.htm A comprehensive listing of ranges and transpositions. Older instruments are included. The information appears to be quite accurate. Names, abbreviations, and orchestral layouts are included at the end. |
Orchestration |
| http://www.dolmetsch.com/theoryintro.htm Music Theory Online is an excellent site that offers up most of the content found in a standard music theory text book, and more. This is the URL for the index page. |
Music Theory/Orchestration |
| http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/orchestr_History.asp This site gives a brief history of orchestration and instruments. A quick reference for basic changes to the orchestra between Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century time periods. |
History of Orchestration |
| http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/ent/A0860149.html A brief history of the orchestra and orchestration. Contains some good information about how the orchestra developed bginning with the 17th century. |
History of Orchestration |
| http://www.hut.fi/~tbackstr/ranges/ranges.html Ranges of orchestral instruments divided into registers. Voice included at the end showing most usable notes (good recommendations for choral writing). |
Orchestration |
| http://www.iwritethemusic.com/miditutorials.html A plain looking website that contains some wonderful tutorial pages on how to write MIDI music, sources that can be very valuable for the uninitiated or the casual observer. |
MIDI Orchestration |
| http://www.macmusic.org/articles/view.php/lang/EN/id/11/?vRmtQjpAznOhMaS=1#2 Information about digital sampling for the Macintosh computer. Some troubleshooting. |
Recording & Sampling |
| http://www.maestoso-music.com/orchestra.html Basic music history. There is a toolbar on the right side that leads to further information. |
History of Orchestration |
| http://www.mcn.org/heidsite/audio/soundprimer.html An explanantion of how sampling works. There are also tips on how to edit and record. |
Recording & Sampling |
| http://www.midi.com/ This is "home base" for all things MIDI. It has links to MIDI files, MIDI Sites and MIDI books. |
MIDI |
| http://www.midiworld.com/classic.htm MIDI files of works by Beethoven, Bartok, and Shostakovich among others. |
MIDI Files |
| http://www.mola-inc.org/MOLA%20Guidelines%20Text.htm A set of guidelines for music preparation of score and parts provided by the Music Orchestra Librarian's Association. Particularly useful are the specific recommendations about binding, paper size, staff size, and paper thickness. |
Bibliography |
| http://www.msu.edu/user/millett1/notation.htm Information about score order and abbreviations as well as instrumentation pages and everything else needed to make a good score. Also includes information about margins, barlines, brackets, braces, and vertical spacing. |
Manuscript Preparation |
| http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/~ahugill/manual/seating.html This is an outstanding site. Includes drawings of seating plans of the 2001/2002 season of London's Philharmonia Orchestra. The audio support is extensive, with well-recorded examples of individual pitches at various dynamic levels as well as excerpts from the literature (including commentary). Excellent video support showing techniques. |
Orchestration |
| http://www.music-notation.info/ More of a comprehensive list than an organized website, the site has links to several different resources and articles that deal with notational problems including those associated with computer notation. |
Notation |
| http://www.musicrobot.com/ Huge MIDI search engine. All types of music. |
MIDI Files |
| http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/bk.o/ Artistic Orchestration: An online book by Alan Belkin that addresses issues of form, sound, and balance. He also has some interesting things to say about "orchestral simulation" using computers. There are two URLs for this material. |
Orchestration |
| http://www.garritan.com/Orchestration_Tutorial.html See above. |
Orchestration |
| http://www.petethomas.co.uk/composition-strings.html Material for use in instrumentation and orchestration discussing ranges, registers, and tone color for the string, woodwind, brass, and "rhythm" sections. |
History of Orchestration |
| http://www.societymusictheory.org/mto/ Searchable articles about music theory. Information about orchestration can be found by searching the site. |
Music Theory |
| http://www.sounduser.com/ A site that has a comprehensive set of reviews of samples specifically designed for sequencers and music composition. |
Recording & Sampling |
| http://www.teoria.com/ An in-depth site that provides information about the problems of music theory. Seems to be specifically designed for the bginning user, but is still a useful resource. |
Music Theory |
| http://www.tgtools.de/index-en.htm TGTools are excellent plugins for Finale that accomplish many useful tasks. There is excellent online documentation and there are frequent updates, generally at no charge. |
Notation |
| http://www.vsl.co.at/en-us/70/149/46.vsl "Instruments Online" is a project of the Vienna Symphony Library. This site provides much of the information found in a text on orchestration. Some of the pages don't load, and the graphics are confusing at times, but the site is nonetheless worth taking a look at. |
Virtual Orchestration |
| http://www.digital-recordings.com/publ/pubrec.html Highly technical article. |
Recording & Sampling |
| http://www.ivanhoffman.com/fairusemusic.html A lawyer discussing the legal issues (copyright law) regarding sampling. |
Recording & Sampling |
| http://www.musicarrangers.com/ Very elementary. |
Orchestration |
| http://www.musicworks-atlanta.com/ Shows and advertises Paul Gilreath's book. |
MIDI Orchestration |
| http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/features/feature_partch.html Offers digitized versions of some of Harry Partch's instruments in a Macromedia Flash application. Includes visuals of instruments playing and information on the construction of the instruments and tunings. |
Unique Instruments |
| http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/thesoundexchange/sound_samples/sample_libraries/ Many acoustic instrument samples recorded using various pitches, durations, dynamics, and articulations. |
Samples |